Wednesday, April 30, 2008

David Wright snapped an "oh'fer" night with a game winning RBI "single" deep to the right field corner in the bottom of the 11th to give the Mets the win over a game Pittsburgh Pirates team.

"I was begging the wind to keep it fair, and it barely stayed in," said Wright, who was 0-for-4 when he came up in the 11th. "It was the ball vs. the wind, and the wind was slowly taking it, but it got down just in time."

"They haven't seen a really good Johan yet," Doug Mientkiewicz, now with the Pirates, said yesterday, before the Mets and Pirates slogged their way to a 5-4 Mets victory in 11 innings. "Johan's always started slow. Even in Minnesota. He always started very slow. But then as soon as the season started developing, he was lights out."

When asked about last night's game, Mets manager Willie Randolph was pretty pragmatic, "We'll take the win, although it wasn't real pretty." Willie's frustration probably stemmed from the Mets woeful 1 for 10 performance with runners on base.

The star, and some might say the near-goat, of the night was Jose Reyes. Reyes reached base in all six at-bats with 3 walks and 3 hits, including his third triple of the year.

Reyes also had a throwing error in the 9th that led to the tying run. That run, though unearned, was the first that Billy Wagner has allowed all season.

On the Mets team website, they are already pimping him for an All-Star slot. Ummmm, OK, it is waaaaay too early for that. Let's just enjoy his solid play and hope he can maintain this pace for a full season.

In a night where the bullpen pitched 5 1/3 innings, we saw more of the good/bad that has defined the Mets of early 2008.

The first reliever was Pedro Feliciano, who came in and got the one out that helped Santana escape with the lead. He mixed his devastating slider with superb location to get the Mets out of a 6th inning bases-loaded jam. Adam Laroche looked overmatched against the crafty lefthander.

Aaron Heilman entered the game to a chorus of boos (enough already Mets fans!), and gave up a walk and a hit before getting an out. Scott Schoeneweiss, who is having a heck of a year, relieved Heilman and got two key outs. The final out came on a close play at home after Mets catcher Casanova let the ball get by him, he quickly recovered and fired a strike to Schoeneweis covering at the plate to nail Jose Bautista trying to score from third. In all honesty Bautista looked safe, but the Mets got the benefit of the call on the close play.

In the 8th Mets manager brought in Duaner Sanchez to try and hold the Mets 4-2 lead. It's obvious that Sanchez is looked at as the Mets 8th inning guy this year, and this was his first major test. It wasn't a good one.

Sanchez loaded the bases and never looked comfortbale on the mound. The gritty reliever hung in there and only gave up one run.

He loaded the bases on a walk to Xavier Nady, then walked Chris Gomez to decrease the lead to one run. He got out of the inning on a grounder from Jose Bautista and a popup by Ronny Paulino.

In the 9th Jose Reyes' error allowed the Pirates to get the key runner on base. After Billy Wagner uncorked a wild pitch and gave up a bloop single to Freddy Sanchez, the game was tied.

Wagner then settled down and pitched the rest of the 9th, and the 10th inning, in his usual dominating fashion.

Jorge Sosa pitched the 11th for the win. Surprising stat of the year: Jorge Sosa is tied for the Mets lead in wins.

The bottom of the 11th finally brought the game winning run.

Endy Chavez singled off John Van Benschoten (0-1), Pittsburgh's sixth pitcher, to start things off. Van Benschoten, called up Sunday when Matt Morris was released, balked to move Chavez to second. On the SNY replay you could clearly see him lean in and flinch before stepping off the rubber.

Marlon Anderson sacrificed Chavez to third and Jose Reyes was walked intentionally. Luis Castillo came up with a chance to drive the run in, but he patiently drew another walk to load the bases for David Wright.

Wright then hit a fly that just barely landed inside the right-field line, causing a delayed reaction from the players and fans.

Great game today (we called it this morning saying his "swing looked better").

As for the "Curtain Call Snub" that all the beat writers are sniffing after as they try to write "selling" headlines, the hell with them.

Kathy Willens/AP

There was no "snub", it wasn't a momentous occasion; he didn't hit the game winner in the bottom of the 9th; he's had multiple two HR games, and I'd wager he has never felt the need for a curtain call after any of them.

So there it is...Carlos Delgado had an excellent day, the Mets won, and the fans cheered...much ado, much ado, much do.

Welcome back David Wright. Yesterday's win featured something the Mets hadn't had in a while...DW hitting, and Beltran driving in runs in a big spot.

Wright's hitless streak had reached 19 at-bats, the longest drought of his career, before he slapped a Tim Hudson pitch to right field as part of the Mets' four-run outburst in the third inning. Wright later singled leading off the fifth.

"I understand my importance to the lineup," Wright said. "I'm responsible for igniting this offense when guys are struggling. It's a big responsibility."

Carlos Beltran's only hit was a big one, a cleanly stroked gapper double that plated two runs, the second of which came on a beautiful slide by David Wright that narrowly beat the tag by the Braves Brian McCann.

"I think right now as a team we feel we can play a lot better than what we're playing," said Carlos Beltran, "It's all a matter of time. Things are going to change. I have no doubt they are going to change. When it's going to be? Hopefully soon."

John Maine threw 5 strong innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and striking out 7. He left the game at 100 pitches, and thought he could've thrown more. "I could have gone out there for the sixth," Maine said. "I wanted to. But it's still April, so you've got to be cautious, I guess."

Braves starter Tim Hudson only lasted 3 innings. Though the Braves claim he is fine physically, it definitely seemed odd to see him leave after only 60 pitches.

Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado continue to struggle, but there were enough good swings from both players yesterday to keep me hopeful.

The Mets bullpen, despite Heilman giving up yet another run, was outstanding. Billy Wagner has now started the season with a "personal no-hitter." 9 straight innings of no-hit ball, to go along with 5 saves, 9 Ks, and only 2 walks.

Though Wagner himself has chalked up his hot start to "just luck," Mets fans and manager Willie Randolph believe otherwise. Willie said, "he threw the heck out of the ball today," and we agree...he has been all season long.

Equally impressive has been Duaner Sanchez, though he given up 2 hits in his 6.2 innings of work. Goggles has yet to give up a run and came in yesterday in a huge spot to induce a potentially game saving double play.

As I followed Carlos' assent through the Mets minors and up to the big club last year, I was always troubled by his free swinging style and lack of any sense of the strike zone. A talented athlete, he has all of the physical tools to excel at the major league level, but he is missing one key ingredient--the ability to identify a strike and swing at the pitch that will bring him the highest chance of success.

He has been pretty up and down with the Twins this year, and the latest trends on him are not favorable.

Of note is his K to BB ration: 12 to 1. As you can see at the bottom of the chart, he is "on pace" for 175 strikeouts against 15 walks.

The positives are the speed numbers--10 stolen bases with only 1 caught stealing, 12 runs scored despite only being on base 26 times, etc.

So we'll play a bit of a wait and see game with young Carlos--he's an easy guy to root for, and his measurable statistics will get better. Will he ever achieve all-star status? That's a big question mark, and it all depends on his ability to learn the strike zone and become a better pitch selector.

After 21 interesting games and a somewhat roller-coaster like ride through the opening of 2008, it's time to take stock of where this team is right now prior to this weekend's series against the Braves.

The Starters:

Jose Reyes: Jose is batting a paltry .259 with a woeful .289 OBP. With only 4 steals and 2 caught stealings, the Mets all-star table setter has not gotten the job done thus far. He is 2 for his last 18. While most smart fans are not all that worried about Reyes, he does seem unsettled at the plate and looks as if he is bailing out on some very hittable pitches. As Jose goes, so do the Mets.

Luis Castillo: Luis has shown some life of late, but his inability to hit with any power whatsoever (.286 slg %), and his failure to drive in runs from the #2 hole does not bode well for the team. Ideally suited to hit in the #8 hole with this lineup, Willie Randolph has stubbornly refused to keep him there.

David Wright: DW is having an excellent start to his campaign, though he is in a mini-slump these past 4 games. The most consistent of all the Mets hitters, he has impressed with nice patience at the plate (18 walks already), and a growing presence on the field as a team leader and a hitter to be feared. Will once again contend for MVP honors.

Carlos Beltran: Carlos has been something of an anomaly this year. He's had some decent games, but he is not getting the big hits in key situations. NL pitchers are feeding him a steady diet of breaking balls with two strikes, and he hasn't seemed to figure out how to put them in play. Like DW, Beltran is taking a lot of walks, but the fact that he has 10 RBIs batting cleanup for the Mets shows how ineffective he's been overall.

Carlos Delgado: Is Delgado done? Hate to say it, but "maybe" is probably the best any of us can say right now. His plate mechanics are horrible, and the more he opens his stance the later he is on the fastball. I would love to be HoJo for a day and tell Carlos to close his stance to neutral or ride the pine...his choice. We're all holding our breath for Alou's return to see if that can stabilize Delgado. Delgado has 4 extra base hits all season...the bell is starting to toll.

Ryan Church: Nothing but positives for Ryan. He came in under a lot of pressure and has performed admirably. He is a sure fielder, makes great contact, has hit lefty's nicely, and is very poised on the field. His power numbers are going to rise nicely.

Angel Pagan: Has filled in very well for Alou. He annoys me a bit with his umpire baiting, but his hustle, ability to go with the pitch, aggressiveness on the basepaths and in the field all earn him high marks in my book. Has cooled off after a hot start--his cooling off came after some very surprising negative public comments about Pagan by Willie...bizarre.

Brian Schneider: Has played well when in there--a couple of nagging injuries have slowed him, but you can see why Omar was excited to bring him in. That said, he has next to no power and will struggle to drive in runs. If the middle of the order isn't getting it done, the back of the order won't pick them up.

All in all it has not been the greatest of starts offensively for the Mets. DW and Church have been excellent, Pagan and Schneider have been good. Beltran and Reyes have been something of a disappointment, and Castillo and Delgado have been downright awful.

Is getting Alou back enough to shake the team up? Will a little home cooking be the answer? Can 2 or 3 of these guys at the top get hot and energize this team? Can Delgado do anything?

It's early, and the next two weeks are going to tell us a lot. Remember that the team is 11-10 despite all of the offensive shortcomings. A stretch of 8-3 or 9-2 and a steady 5-8 runs per game is what they need...the question is can they do it? I think they can.